Non-Directional Instant locking fastner

ABSTRACT

An accessibility-enhanced instant locking fastener system comprising of a cylindrical tongue and a catch with funnel-shaped opening, enabling easy insertion and pushing for locking, without precise alignment or directional orientation. The omni-directional locking clasp system, typical use of which may be for seat belt buckling systems, are configured so that the once the tip of the tongue meets the opening of the hole in the clasp, latching can be accomplished by simply pushing the tongue into the funnel-shaped opening without the necessity to precise directional alignment unlike the flat tongue plates of locking buckles typically found in conventional seat belt harnesses.

BACKGROUND

Conventional instant locking fasteners, as commonly found in the seatbelts of various vehicles require certain level of dexterity and, insome cases, vision, to engage as the conventional fastener designsrequire precise lateral-directional match of the tongue plate on oneside, to fit into the narrow opening of the buckle on the other side,and maintaining the alignment to insert to engage the latch within thebuckle's locking structure to fasten. This requirement of matching andaligning embedded in the conventional designs of locking fastenersimposes inconvenience, more time to engage and make them unusable to theusers with limited dexterity. So a fastener system with a locking claspthat can be engaged through general pushing of the tongue into the holeof the clasp without precise directional alignment for locking could bevaluable in many applications and also available to broader spectrum ofusers.

SUMMARY

The present invention incorporates a new design of a locking fastenersystem of a tongue and a clasp where the “tongue” part is generallycylindrical or transversely isotropic, as opposed to the flat design ofits conventional counterparts, with a rounded, spheroidal top, and thereceiving clasp has a hole with a funnel-shaped opening leading to theinsertion channel for the tongue. Once the tip of the tongue is pushedthrough the flaring opening of the clasp, the tongue will travel throughthe internal channel so long as the tongue is pushed, regardless of itslateral orientation, and ultimately lock when it reaches the lockingpoint and remain locked when the tongue may pivot. The present inventionfurther incorporates the shape of the tongue that is connected to aknob-shape, bulked handle that is likewise non-directional, and for thedexterity-challenged users to grab with improved accessibility andengage in the latch by pushing without accurately aligning in a moreintuitive way because the axis of the tongue will be aligned with thedirection of the force asserted by the hand that is holding the knob topush for locking.

An object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide adesign for a fastening device which can be latched without preciselateral aligning of the tongue into the opening of the clasp. Anotherobject of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide afastening device where the tongue can be pushed in faster, with auser-friendly handle which can be used in engaging the lock by makingthe gripping or pushing of the knob less demanding precision and force.The non-directional design of the locking mechanisms in the fastenerallows the users to lock the tongue in the clasp by pushing inindiscriminant way and the tongue may pivot inside the clasp whilemaintaining the locked state. This ability to pivot can be beneficial inmany applications as well as adding to the overall strength of the lockas the torsional stress between the two parts held by the fastener willbe alleviated by pivoting. Another object of an embodiment of thepresent invention is to provide a locking clasp that can be easilydisengaged by a simple push of a button or buttons.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a fastening deviceincludes a clasp with a shell having side walls covering the base plateholding the locking mechanism, one end of the base plate is shaped likea barrel and is to accommodate the funnel-shaped hole formed by therelease buttons to guide the tongue into the barrel-shaped insertionchannel. The tongue is generally cylindrically shaped to fit theinterior of the tubular insertion channel so that there is no requiredparticular lateral orientation to align for insertion into the channelfor locking, the tongue having an indentation, a set of latching barsthat are adapted to be supported by the side walls so that the latchingmember can slide between an unlatching position and a latching position,wherein the hole formed by the half arcs of the latching bars choke andlock the tongue when the tongue is inserted into a predeterminedposition within the fastening device and the latching bars are lockedand butted against the frame wall of the insertion channel, an ejectorthat is located to prevent the tongue from moving when the tongue islatched, a set of blade springs which are positioned to hold thelatching bars in latching position, and a set of release keys connectedto a release button with a spring over the insertion channel to becompressed by the user for pushing the release keys and move thelatching bars apart to release and unlatch the tongue.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a set ofrelease buttons may be placed on each side of the casing to allowsqueezing as opposed to pressing to release the tongue from the lockingmechanism.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only,and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description, appendedclaims, and the accompanying exemplary embodiments shown in thedrawings, which are briefly described below.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings. It should be noted that, in the followingdescription, terms “upper”, “lower”, “above”, and “below” refer to“upper”, “lower”, “above”, and “below” in the drawings, respectively,and the terms “right”, “left”, “rightward, and “leftward” refer to“right”, “left”, “rightward, and “leftward” refer to “right”, “left”,“rightward, and “leftward” in the drawings, respectively.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded illustration of an embodiment of the lockingfastener system (“the fastener”) comprising of a “tongue” and a “catch”where the tongue is passive and the catch has the active components toengage locking mechanism when the tongue is inserted.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show side sections of the fastener according to FIG. 3,after inserting the insertion tongue and in locked position (FIG. 4) andin an unactuated released position (FIG. 5)

The top portion of the FIG. 3 shows the tongue 30 which has a roundshaft 35 with spheroidal head 31 and a groove 32 around the shaft underthe head. For such applications as seat belt buckles, the tongue has ahole 34 where the webbing of a seatbelt may be inserted. The tongue hasa round knob 33 for the non-directional gripping and assisted handlingof the shaft as the force will be in the same axis as the direction ofthe movement of the tongue in the pushing action, to provide wideraccessibility to users of different levels of dexterity when insertingthe tongue into the catch to engage the locking mechanism. Two possibleways to limit the travel of the tongue into the insertion channel 4 ofthe catch plates are provided. One of which is by the tapering in theshape of the shaft 35 and matching insertion channel 4 of the catchplates. The other being the shape and placing of the bulk 36 at the leftend of the tongue 30. The rest of the FIG. 3 shows the parts comprisingthe catch. The base for the catch are two base plates, 3′ and 3″(collectively, “plates” or “3”) which at the flat end has openings 2 and43, for fastening to a free belt band end 2 or to a fitting fastened tothe floor of the vehicle 43, for example. These plates are bonded witheach other and form the base frame for the catch. On the non-free end ofthe plates 3, is a barrel-shaped insertion channel 4 for the tongue, forwhich the two plate parts 3′ and 3″, in connection with the opening 4,form an insertion path. In the center of the plates 3, a latching-barsopening 5 is present for the insertion of a set of latching bars 21,described below, perpendicularly to the insertion path. Attachable tothe plates 3 are two leaf springs 24, which are riveted to the plates 3through the common holes 9 and 22 and these two springs hold thelatching bars 21 inside the plates' opening. The latching bars 21, upperand lower, each has semi-circle cutouts, forming a choking hole 29 tomatch the shape of the groove 32 on the tongue. The matching of theshape of the arcs in the latching bars to the groove 32 of the tongue,result the hole to be shaped in such a way that the head 31 of thetongue may pass through the hole 29 with minimal movement of thelatching bars but disallow escaping unless the latching bars arecompletely open as the hole is larger on the left side than the rightside. The end of the insertion channel 4 also form a wall 8 againstwhich the latching bars 21 are butted after the tongue is inserted andlocked by the latching bars. The release keys 15 are given theirstability through the guide holes 6 on the plate. A set of bar guideholes 6 guide the movement of the four release keys 15 with their prongs16 inside the guide holes. The release button 10, is a funnel shapedpressure key, which is supported by and movable parallel within theinsertion path formed by the outer casing 37, and is attached to fourrelease keys 15. The funnel shaped flaring tube 11 in the center of therelease button serves as the flaring outer opening of the catch for thetongue and it covers the insertion channel 4 of the clasp. The releasebutton's outward pressure is kept by a spring 39 wrapped around theleft-end of the insertion channel 4, and is kept inside the casing 37through its indentation 19 at the end. The inner end of the insertionchannel 8 function as a wall for the latching bars, and once locked,stands as a barrier for the latching bars from letting the tongue escapefrom their grip in the fashion of a choke hold. The non-directionalshape of the tongue combined with the choke-hold of the latching barsenables the tongue to pivot inside the catch while maintaining the lock,once engaged. The release keys 15 have slanted outer ramps 14 whichslide under the lifting arms 27 on the each end of the latching bars 21.The opening 5 inside the plates 3 also house the ejector 40 and theejector spring 38 which holds and presses the knob 41, which in tum,presses the tip of the tongue 31 for releasing the tongue when unlockedas well as holding the tongue in steady position with the latching barsbutted against the inner wall 8 while locked.

FIG. 4 shows the position of the tongue and clasp where the releasebutton is in extended position, in which the tongue is locked inside theclasp. The tip 31 of the tongue is pushed against the ejector 40 by theforce of the spring 38, and the tongue 30 is strangled at its circulargroove 32, in the hole 29 formed by the arcs of the latching bars 21,which arcs are carved to match the shape of the circular groove of thetongue, and the latching bars are butted against the end wall 8 of theinsertion channel to resist pulling once latched, while allowing thetongue to pivot inside the hole. The spring 39 and the end indentation19 of the casing 37 keep the release button 10 within the casing at anextended position.

FIG. 5 shows the position of the fastener in which the tongue is beingreleased as the release button moves from extended position to retractedposition. The release button 10 has been pushed against the pressure ofthe spring 39, and the release keys 15 moved along the path on theplates 3, lifting the lift arms 27 of the latching bars through theirslanted ramps 14. The ejector 40 has been pressed outward until it wasstopped by the latching bars, moving the tongue away from the choke-holdof the latching bars.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the design, similar to the embodimentof FIGS. 3 through 5, with an identical tongue to the previousembodiment as well as the locking mechanism allowing free-pivot of thetongue while locked, the difference being that the catch incorporatesrelease buttons positioned on the side of its casing, which predicates asqueezing action as opposed to the pressing for releasing the lock.

The funnel-shaped opening 51 attached to the insertion channel of thebase plates is stationary. Two release buttons 53 are located on bothsides of casing 63 and laterally placed in relation to the funnel-shapedopening 51. The release buttons are held outward by two springs 54,located at each end of the protrusions 61 on the base plates 60. Therelease buttons are held by the matching cut-outs 64 of the casing 63.The keys 65 connected to the release buttons 53 work in the same way asthe previous embodiment, and their slanted ramps 66 lift the latchingbars as they slide their slanted ramps under the arms 71 of the latchingbars 70. The guide holes 62 of the main plates 60 hold the protrusions53 of the release keys in place and act as

1. A non-directional, instantaneously locking fastener, comprising of atongue with spheroidal tip and a receiving clasp with roughlyfunnel-shaped opening and insertion channel, wherein the tongue may beinserted into the clasp through insertional channel for locking andreleasing, in all lateral-directional orientations.
 2. The fastener asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the clasp has an opening and insertionchannel with transversely isotropic internal shape to allowindiscriminant insertion of the tongue into the clasp.
 3. The fasteneras claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft of the tongue has a taperingprofile and the clasp has matching insertion channel connected to itsopening, preventing the tongue from traveling further within the claspafter it reaches locking position.
 4. The fastener as set forth in claim1 with the tongue connected to a grip in spherically bulked shape at theopposite end from the spheroidal tip for non-directional gripping andindiscriminant insertion of the tongue into the clasp, and preventingthe tongue from traveling further within the clasp after it reacheslocking position.
 5. A fastener, comprising of a tongue with atransversely isotropic shaft and a receiving clasp with funnel-shapedopening where the clasp contains a set of spring-loaded protruding hooksto lock and hold the tongue by its hooks and maintain the lock in alldirectional orientations of the tongue.
 6. A fastener, comprising of atongue with a spheroidal tip and a receiving clasp with funnel-shapedopening leading to an insertion channel of a locking mechanismcomprising of a casing, a set of base plates with the insertion channelwith its end forming an internal wall, a release button in the shape ofa funnel movably connected to the insertion channel from an extendedposition to a retracted position, a set of latching bars for locking thetongue, release keys connected to the release button to unlatch thetongue from the latching bars, and an ejector for moving the tongue inthe direction of withdrawal of the tongue from the clasp during movementof the release keys from the extended position to the retractedposition.
 7. The fastener as set forth in claim 6 where the tongue has arecess in the form of a circular groove near its tip, which allows thelocking mechanism in the clasp to catch and lock the tongue and maintainlocked, in all lateral orientations of the tongue.
 8. The fastener asset forth in claim 6 with the locking mechanism includes a set ofsprings positioned to provide constant pressure to keep the latchingbars in locked position and butted against the internal wall of theinsertion channel to prevent the freeing of the tongue unless thelatching bars are pushed apart to allow the tongue to escape when therelease keys are pushed under the latching bars.
 9. The fastener as setforth in claim 6, wherein the casing is part of a guide for the releasebutton, the base plates have guide holes for the release keys, thelatching bars movable transversely to insertion channel for selectiveengagement and disengagement by the release keys slidably guided by theguide holes on the base plates, said release key being provided withramps for pushing the latching bars out of engagement with the recess inthe tongue when the release button is depressed.